Chaurjahari Airport closed for 15 months

Surkhet: Chaurjahari Airport in East Rukum district that had been providing service to locals of Jajarkot, Salyan and Rukum districts has remained close for 15 months, thanks to apathy of concerned authorities to bring back the airport into operation.

The airport had been operating flights to Surkhet, Nepalgunj and Kathmandu. As a result, the local people and travelers journeying between the distances have been affected as the dirt road is riskier. The patients have been affected the most.

“It is increasingly becoming difficult to transport patients referred by the nearby hospital as the road leading to main cities like Nepalgunj, Surkhet and Kathmandu is in bad condition,” said a local resident Gopal Regmi. Mission Hospital is nearby the airport.

However, officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said the airport was forced to close for want of adequate numbers of aircrafts operating to and from the airport. Likewise, State Assembly Member Gopal Sharma said that coordination is ongoing with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to resume the flights to and from the airport.